My 10 best & worst bits of camera kit ever: Niall Hampton, Editor, Digital Camera

(Image credit: Digital Camera Magazine)

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Cameras
Lenses
Accessories
… the worst kit

Growing up, there were always cameras in the house. My father was a wildlife artist and painted from color slides of birds that he’d travel the length and breadth of the country to photograph. As a boy, I would often accompany him on these trips and remember being more interested in what he was using to take his pictures, rather than what he was actually taking pictures of.

He stored his camera equipment in a home-made camera case improvised from an old suitcase and home-made inserts upcycled from sofa cushion foam (not quite as elegant as Rod Lawton’s camera storage solution, but still impressive).

Surely one of my best-ever camera purchases, and still doing a great job after six years. A sweet-spot full-frame resolution of 22.3MP, a fantastic autofocus system straight from the EOS-1D X, excellent performance in low light, great in the hand and well built. A wise buy even now, the Mark III holds its own when compared to its successor – a camera that I don’t recall people getting quite so excited about.

<a href="https://myfavouritemagazines.pxf.io/c/221109/583111/9620?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk%2Fdcmd%2Fmarch206" data-link-merchant="myfavouritemagazines.co.uk"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Digital Camera is the definitive guide to digital photography. Every issue comes packed with expert advice, in-depth tutorials, news, interviews, tests of all the latest gear, free gifts and inspirational images. Digital Camera has the sole aim of helping you become a better photographer.

They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and you never have to miss a shot with this in your pocket. This is definitely the Cupertino crew’s best camera phone offering yet: three lenses on demand, a buffet of image effects and a range of exposure trickery that lets you take daylight photos in the dark. And the video footage is broadcast quality, too. Apple may be one year behind its rivals when bringing the latest tech to market, but who cares about that when iPhones work so well and you don’t have to use Android?

I don’t actually own one – yet – but I have borrowed this lens and its performance gives Canon’s EF 70-200mm f/2.8L a run for its higher price tag. The Sigma may be bigger and heavier, but its build quality is bombproof and it’s way more affordable than the Canon. (The 82mm filter thread size is the same as my two Canon EF zooms, so if I do decide to snap up a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 anytime soon, I won’t have to buy yet another UV filter.)

I’ve used Manfrotto tripods for two decades and their products always do the job well. The 190go! is a four-section set of sticks with leg twist locks rather than levers (some of which have broken on me in the past), and a fold-out centre column that’s useful for flat-lay still life photography. I prefer the MH804-3W 3-way head to a ball head – it just feels more stable when you’ve got a weighty lens on the camera.

I have enough camera bags to stock a shop with, but this one seems to have been made to measure for my setup. The storage compartment swallows an EOS 5D Mark III, my 16-35mm and 24-70mmm zooms and two flashguns, and its rear-opening compartment means that nothing is accessible when the pack is on your back. The top storage section takes everything else, from a remote shutter release, a pair of filters, flash trigger, various cables and leads, batteries and even an additional lens.
• Best camera backpacks

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Niall is the editor of Digital Camera Magazine, and has been shooting on interchangeable lens cameras for over 20 years, and on various point-and-shoot models for years before that.

Working alongside professional photographers for many years as a jobbing journalist gave Niall the curiosity to also start working on the other side of the lens. These days his favored shooting subjects include wildlife, travel and street photography, and he also enjoys dabbling with studio still life.

On the site you will see him writing photographer profiles, asking questions for Q&As and interviews, reporting on the latest and most noteworthy photography competitions, and sharing his knowledge on website building.

My 10 best & worst bits of camera kit ever: Niall Hampton, Editor, Digital Camera

Cameras

1. Canon EOS 5D Mark III

2. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

3. Canon EOS 750D

Lenses

4. Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

5. Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports

Accessories

6. Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter

7. Manfrotto 190go! carbon tripod & MH804-3W 3-way head

8. Manfrotto Advanced Camera and Laptop Backpack

9. Billingham Hadley Pro

… the worst kit

10. GoPro Hero Session

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